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Plane crash kills dad on beach, injures daughter

A small plane was forced to make an emergency landing on a Florida beach on Sunday afternoon, killing a father and critically injuring his daughter. The pilot, Karl Kokomoor, and his passenger, David Theen, were unharmed.

SARASOTA, Fla. — Authorities say a father was killed and his daughter seriously injured when a small plane crash landed along Florida's Gulf Coast near Venice Beach.

Around 2:45 p.m. ET, Venice Airport contacted Sarasota Sheriff's Office regarding a small plane in distress that could not make it back to the airport.

Ommy Irizarry and his family from Georgia were walking on Caspersen Beach, about a mile from the Venice Beach pier, and may not have heard the plane approaching, according to a witness.

"I didn't hear anything, actually," said Zack Arceneaux, and speculated the plane's engine might not have been working when the plane crashed.

Irizarry, 36, was killed. His daughter, Oceana Irizarry, 9, was critically injured and airlifted to All Children's Hospital in Tampa.

Other family members were so traumatized they also sought treatment at a Venice hospital.

The pilot of the 1972 Piper Cherokee, 57-year-old Karl Kokomoor, and his 60-year-old passenger, David Theen, both of Englewood, Fla., were rescued and were uninjured, according to Wendy Rose, community affairs manager for the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office.

National Transportation and Safety Board investigators have headed to the site.

A father on the ground was killed after a small plane crashed into the water off the off the coast near Venice Beach. His 9-year-old daughter was taken to the hospital, where she later died. (Photo: WTSP)

Pictures of Ommy Irizarry and his family. Irizarry was killed when a plane crashed on Casperson Beach Sunday afternoon, and his 9-year-old daughter Oceana was seriously injured. Sadly, Oceana later died. (Photo: Family photos)

A vacationing soldier was killed and his 9-year-old daughter critically injured Sunday while walking along a Bay area beach when a small plane crash landed on the Gulf Coast only feet from the surf. (Photo: WTSP)

A vacationing soldier was killed and his 9-year-old daughter critically injured Sunday while walking along a Bay area beach when a small plane crash landed on the Gulf Coast only feet from the surf. (Photo: WTSP)

A vacationing soldier was killed and his 9-year-old daughter critically injured Sunday while walking along a Bay area beach when a small plane crash landed on the Gulf Coast only feet from the surf. (Photo: WTSP)

A vacationing soldier was killed and his 9-year-old daughter critically injured Sunday while walking along a Bay area beach when a small plane crash landed on the Gulf Coast only feet from the surf. (Photo: WTSP)